Secrets of Successful Sales with Alison Edgar

Secrets of successful sales are so important for any business or entrepreneur. Today I'm interviewing Alison Edgar, she's known as the Entrepreneurs Godmother and Managing Director of Sales Coaching Solutions. She's an author and entrepreneur, a speaker, and a thought leader. From growing up in a high rise flat in Scotland, and struggling with undiagnosed dyslexia, to working internationally in hospitality management, and ultimately owning and scaling a successful sales training business.

Nathaniel Schooler 0:50

Alison has a fantastic story to tell her debut book Secrets of Successful Sales has reached the top of the Amazon best selling chart and is also known in the top 10 in W.H. Smiths business chart. Alison regularly appears on and contributes to the BBC and LBC Radio and she has been named one of the UK's top 10 business advisers and the UK is number 1 sales and marketing adviser by Enterprise Nation.

Nathaniel Schooler 1:24

Really pleased to have you on the show Alison.

Nathaniel Schooler 1:34

I know you had a life changing opportunity come along quite recently, the Duke of York runs some kind of organisation and you're involved with that. And it sounds really quite interesting. I look forward to hearing more about you and that actually! So I'm gonna let you let you tell me a bit about it.

Alison Edgar 1:56

Yeah, so what had happened is one of my clients, I've worked with a lot of young entrepreneurs, some of them ex Dragons Den winners or Apprentice winners. I like working with young people, the the bring out the best in me; they inspire me, and I think it's it's mutual. And Ben Towers who is a young entrepreneur did a multi million pound merger of this company. He works closely with working closely with the Duke of York idea awards.

Alison Edgar 2:25

It sounded really funky and really cool. And I thought, that's something I could really get behind. So most people have heard of the Duke of Edinburgh, so with Duke of Edinburgh scheme, you go and you do the running up the hills and you know, you do the the sports activities.

Alison Edgar 2:44

But now with digital being so prevalent not only to younger people, but return to workers after maternity leave, or the unemployed, or others, it's a really good way to get education for free. So you get the badges. So you get your bronze award, or you will get your silver award. And then the lead up to that so you get your little badges. So it's in different things, you've got like the walker one, the entrepreneurial one, it helps you do coding etc...

Alison Edgar 3:14

So again, if you look at that as a bit of a gap in the market is if you do because as an example, I continued to work while my children were small, but I worked part time. But a lot of people give that time fully to the children. And then they have to go back and they potentially come from corporate world and because the skills have like gone or evaporated. Because techs move so quickly that I just thought that sounded really brilliant thing to help people that are going back to work, help their CV, give them new skills. And ultimately, I think give them confidence because especially with the badges everybody likes to think the one I had, you know up a level or so. I just felt it was something I could get behind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNpfjPJL-D4

Alison Edgar 4:00

Also, I've got a young team, sort of like Rebecca and my team, she's achieved her silver award, and she is not a graduate, I take on quite a lot of graduates from intern programs. But Rebecca hasn't really get any full formal A levels or anything. And for her, it just gave her a whole new lease of life.

Alison Edgar 4:20

So I can see what it does for our team. I was honoured to be made an ambassador for them. So I go add skills in the local area. And I talked about idea and how, again, young people can help with their CV a little bit more, the personal statement a little bit more to really, again,